Intended as a guide for educators in shared decision-making, this report summarizes the structures, procedures, and activities of local action teams in 49 schools involved in the National Institute of Education's Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program. Local action teams in the RDU program consisted of formal groups of teachers and administrators empowered to make decisions on local school improvement using decision-making models based on problem-solving and knowledge utilization. The guide discusses the consequences, organization, procedures, and leadership and communication factors involved in employing local action teams. To illustrate each of these aspects, the guide cites examples of successful local action teams in three of the 49 schools: a rural northeastern elementary school, an urban southeastern elementary school, and a suburban West Coast middle school. Included in the report's discussion are the benefits and problems of shared decision-making, the local action team's function, size, representation, and training, the principal's role, involvement of non-team faculty, and problem-solving practices. The authors identify 11 factors contributing to a local action team's effectiveness, including strong leadership, assistance from external facilitators, and willingness to commit considerable energy to the project. (Author/RW)